Vegas

[Rickhem]

$11 would be great so I'll check on that. Thanks!

Was out to Las Vegas last May, and again in August, for the APA events.
The Westgate has a huge parking lot out back behind their sportsbook. It's where the Uber and Lift rides pick up and drop off. That lot looked like free parking to me, and it was mostly empty whenever we went out that way. There's also a parking garage out that way, but I don't know the details for that.

I'll start with something I haven't noticed in any other post: The Strip is WAY longer than you think it is. The first time I went was around 2001 and we stayed at The Stratosphere. We got up the next morning and decided to walk the entire strip and back, stopping in every casino to get a $1.00 souvenir chip. That was a bad idea. We failed to realize that The Strip was around 5.5 miles long. We did manage to make it all the way to Mandalay Bay and then back to The Riviera before I threw in the towel and took a cab back to The Strat.

You are so right about this. My girl and I decided to walk from Westgate to the strip, spend an afternoon exploring while we were there in May. We went through Fontainebleau, across to Circus Circus, and then south until we got to the Bellagio fountains. This is similar, but maybe a little less walking than you did to get to the fountains, since the Strat is further north, and at that point my GF was done, and wanted to go back. They do the fountain show pretty frequently, so it's not a long wait, and an iconic thing that everyone should do. Maybe the only thing left that's free too.

I did take a few walking tours by myself in August, playing some craps in every casino I could, and collecting a chip from each. I took the monorail to cut down on walking on one of those, and that puts you into casinos at every stop. Much as I thought I'd cover everything, I never got further south than the last monorail stop. It's a lot of walking if you want to explore the strip, so be prepared for that, and have footwear suited for it. I'm hoping to be out there again this year and doing a few more exploration walks.

 

[mjantti]

If you are more into poker, install PokerAtlas on your phone. It contains a lot of tournament and cash games info. Uber is pretty easy to get around, rides around $10 from casino to another. If there is a Predator event going on, you can see a lot of pro players hanging out and matching up at Griff's.

I was in Vegas for a WSOP vacation (won the entry and all expenses paid trip from a satellite) back in 2008 when games were played at Rio. And then Vegas again in 2024 for refereering. Between that a lot of new casinos opened, prices soared and cheap deals disappeared. In 2024 we went to North Outlet Mall which was quite good for buying clothes etc. Also a Hoover Dam + Grand Canyon heli ride, which was amazing ($350 for pickup at the hotel, rides, lunch and 10-15min helicopter ride in the GC). Additionally, took a nostalgic poker route for some poker action with cash games at Resorts World (very nice and clean poker room) and Golden Nugget (proper old school nit games) and a small tournament in Sahara. Enjoyed myself very much. But the city felt different than back in 2008, it bothered to be viewed only as a wallet and everything is so expensive, even basic fast food at casinos.

I once even toyed with the idea of playing the PBS Las Vegas Open. The entry is $370 but I feel that all hotel and food expenses would make a full grand easily and that is excluding flights.

Edit: And in 2024 had the pleasure of shaking Mr. Bob Jewett's hand a have a brief chat with him. Was a pleasure of meeting him finally.

 

[maha]

I've never been there to Las Vegas my folks had been a couple times and they stayed at the Horse Shoe as my dad and Benny were friends , I never got to meet him sadly , anyway how is the Horse Shoe as a place to stay ?

rusty, the horseshoe was sold and was ruined as to its former self. dont know how it is now as its changed hands.
after benny and his wife, and teddy died, jack took over which he was doing anyway. then he and his sister got fighting and he sold out to her and then she sold later on. i was friends with benny and his family and unfortunately watched the whole downfall of them and the casino.
it all went the way of old time vegas

 

[Zerksies]

I've been to Vegas many times. If you are staying at the strip the cheapest and fastest way down the strip is getting a bus pass. They drive past every 10 minutes and stop at every casino. It's been a few years since i now have a kid. But the pass was $20 for three days.

At the airport they have shuttles that will take you to every casino. Very cheap too. I made a reservation for them to pick me up too when i was leaving. Paid for it all at one shot. These are real companies not people just hanging around.

The food can be cheap or expensive. If you forget something, there is basically a CVS near every casino.

Shows are all over the place and every place has a show. They can be expensive sometimes they have deal going on. My last trip i did a bundle of three shows and saved alot.

 

[Rusty in Montana]

rusty, the horseshoe was sold and was ruined as to its former self. dont know how it is now as its changed hands.
after benny and his wife, and teddy died, jack took over which he was doing anyway. then he and his sister got fighting and he sold out to her and then she sold later on. i was friends with benny and his family and unfortunately watched the whole downfall of them and the casino.
it all went the way of old time vegas

Thank you maha for the response , my dad thought about the same as you mentioned it's a sad deal I'm sure Benny rolled over a few times in his grave when he seen what they did to what he had built it up to so they could tear it down .

 

[JPB2]

I've never been there to Las Vegas my folks had been a couple times and they stayed at the Horse Shoe as my dad and Benny were friends , I never got to meet him sadly , anyway how is the Horse Shoe as a place to stay ?

I think what is left of Binions is owned by the Four Queens. It is depressing walking through. No hotel, I think it was condemned. Hotel had been the Mint before Binions bought it. Hotel Apache is open and part of that group, you can check out their website.

Didn’t have any connection with the Binions unlike Maha but I remember it and hate to see what happened to it. Liked going to the poker room and getting comped cigarettes with a Horseshoe sticker on the pack in a low limit game. Kinda dirty, cocktail waitresses were old and had worked there forever. Only place in town that would comp you cigarettes in a low limit game. 20-40 game was where Johnny Moss seemed to spend his last years.

This was before the no limit boom of more recent times. No limit was rare for a long time. But if it was spread, Binions was where it was likely to be. Played a small no limit game there with a cast of characters one time. Older Texan with a 20 something super attractive young lady who wanted shopping money, a guy talking about the methadone clinic, that sort of lineup. It wasn’t the sunglasses, hoodies, backpacks GTO solver crowd by any means.

Binions was great, I miss it.

 

[Island Drive]

Considering going to Vegas in late June. Having never been, if anyone could/would recommend places to stay/stay away from, do's, don'ts, etc, that would be great.
Things I'm looking into...
Hotel accommodations (preferably bedbug free).
Places to eat, shows, billiard locations, etc
My thanks to all in advance.

I would never recommend a Week vacation there, 3 days/two nights max.
Keep in mind, allot of the casinos allow cigarettes inside.
I know there are some neat areas to visit off strip if you've got a car.... the Hoover Dam is one of em.

 

[Jimmy_Betmore]

wow you made it 99% of the way! Impressive but I bet you coulda finished after a little rest. Riv is only a couple blocks from the Strat! Proposed to my wife at Riv while on a BCA teams trip out there!

Haha! Yeah. We realized that after the fact. But, man... My doggies were barking bad by the time we got in that cab. Neither of us were wearing appropriate footwear for that long of a walk. Plus, it was the first full day of our weeklong trip.

We took a rental car down to Tucson the following day and spent a few days down there staying in a company condo. Then we drove up and spent a night in Phoenix. The next morning we drove up to The Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and back to Vegas.

Also, it's important to note that this was in February. So the weather was cool in Vegas, amazing in Tucson, nice in Phoenix, and snowy at The Canyon. It was a great trip. And while I don't have any real desire to go back to Vegas, I would like to visit the southwest again.

 

[JPB2]

“Additionally, took a nostalgic poker route for some poker action with cash games at Resorts World (very nice and clean poker room) and Golden Nugget (proper old school nit games“

I may have to protest this a little. I don’t play much poker now, but if I do, it may well be there. And if you are talking about the Duke of Fremont I can’t argue. But I have seen some real rocks, nut peddlers and stiffs in Las Vegas. The Golden Nugget doesn’t seem too bad.

One time a dealer was talking about old school Vegas. I dragged a small pot, tossed him a blue chip and said “ chop it.” Made him feel nostalgic and of course he got the whole thing because there are no quarters in the tray anymore. An old Vegas friend got mad at me for tipping $1 sometimes back when. .50 he stressed. And he wasn’t one of the real tight ones. Tip .50 in poker, get any comps you could, get those little edges. Vegas 101.

 

[jasonlaus]

Horsehoe is next to Paris now

 

[InsertCleverNameHere]

“Additionally, took a nostalgic poker route for some poker action with cash games at Resorts World (very nice and clean poker room) and Golden Nugget (proper old school nit games“

I may have to protest this a little. I don’t play much poker now, but if I do, it may well be there. And if you are talking about the Duke of Fremont I can’t argue. But I have seen some real rocks, nut peddlers and stiffs in Las Vegas. The Golden Nugget doesn’t seem too bad.

One time a dealer was talking about old school Vegas. I dragged a small pot, tossed him a blue chip and said “ chop it.” Made him feel nostalgic and of course he got the whole thing because there are no quarters in the tray anymore. An old Vegas friend got mad at me for tipping $1 sometimes back when. .50 he stressed. And he wasn’t one of the real tight ones. Tip .50 in poker, get any comps you could, get those little edges. Vegas 101.

People playing poker as a hobby shouldn't focus so hard on the dollars and cents. If the difference between winning and losing is about your tips you're in the wrong game anyway.

Btw $1 tippers these days(I know your story was from like the 40s or whatever ) are folks I never pay off. $1 ain't what it used to be. If you can't tip $2 stay home!

 

[InsertCleverNameHere]

I would never recommend a Week vacation there, 3 days/two nights max.
Keep in mind, allot of the casinos allow cigarettes inside.
I know there are some neat areas to visit off strip if you've got a car.... the Hoover Dam is one of em.

Yeah 4 days and 3 nights TOPS and that's if you plan some stuff outside of the casinos. It can get overwhelming fast for the uninitiated especially. Have done the really long 6-14 day trips but without fail I'm ready to leave after 4 days no matter how it's going. Cool place to visit but NFL.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

Considering going to Vegas in late June. Having never been, if anyone could/would recommend places to stay/stay away from, do's, don'ts, etc, that would be great.
Things I'm looking into...
Hotel accommodations (preferably bedbug free).
Places to eat, shows, billiard locations, etc
My thanks to all in advance.

Hi, check out JacobslifeinVegas YouTube channel, and then look at some of his hotel reviews.

It is a really great channel.

He has lived in Vegas for a very long time.

Seems super cool and down to earth too. I think he is also a realtor now.

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

Considering going to Vegas in late June. Having never been, if anyone could/would recommend places to stay/stay away from, do's, don'ts, etc, that would be great.
Things I'm looking into...
Hotel accommodations (preferably bedbug free).
Places to eat, shows, billiard locations, etc
My thanks to all in advance.

I think a few of the hotels downtown do not have a resort fee. Might be very cheap on the weekdays, if you care about that.

I would love to visit Griffs someday.

I been dreaming about Vegas for ages.

 

[jasonlaus]

Yeah 4 days and 3 nights TOPS and that's if you plan some stuff outside of the casinos. It can get overwhelming fast for the uninitiated especially. Have done the really long 6-14 day trips but without fail I'm ready to leave after 4 days no matter how it's going. Cool place to visit but NFL.

I always do 2 weeks, but Im mainly there for poker and food/drinks. There's always a few things I wish I'd done when I leave, havent been to Sphere yet or Fountain Bleu or Resorts or.....

Probably havent been to freemont or a Cirq show in 10 years.

Jason <---Vegas pro

 

[Island Drive]

With Griffs off strip you might stay in that area/the hotels may be more reali$tic.
Or you might consider Reno.

 

[jasonlaus]

Why even go on vacation if you cant afford it?

Its not the gambling, it's not the swearing, its not the dumping, it's the cheap ass pool players keeping pool from becoming mainstream.

Holy shit, if I was a sponsor I'd pull every ad and $$$ from pool, there is no possible way you will ever make a cent by sponsoring pool.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned renting a uhaul and sleeping in that for his trip. Perhaps he could drink toilet water to save $$$, gotta be dumpsters he could eat out of.

Holy shit is this thread embarrassing

Literally sitting here shaking my head, and it's not just this thread, it's every thread that has anything to do with staying, eating, drinking etc at an event or paying for a stream, entry into an event whatever.

Holy shit people

$10,000+ seats at the superbowl and its sold out, food and drink through the roof and the people that go don't bat an eye. THAT'S WHY THOSE SPORTS ARE ON TV and pool is not

 

[vintagecollectibles831]

With Griffs off strip you might stay in that area/the hotels may be more reali$tic.
Or you might consider Reno.

I would look for an Airbnb near Griffs, because I do not think there are any hotels or motels near that area, on the West side of Vegas.

 

[Island Drive]

Jewett might know a good hotel. I'm pretty sure he stayed W of the fwy at least one time.

 

[jasonlaus]

I would look for an Airbnb near Griffs, because I do not think there are any hotels or motels near that area, on the West side of Vegas.

The Orleans and 5 or 6 others are on that side of the highway.

Pretty sure his trip isn't geared around griffs anyway